Brown stew chicken is a favourite amongst English speaking Caribbean islands, it is traditionally eating with rice and peas (or peas and rice). Though, times are changing and with cultural trends taking a different direction, don’t be surprised if the masses pair this with something other than rice and peas.

I absolutely love Jamaican brown stew chicken and other variants of island style stewed chicken. Yes I am being biased but there’s reason for me to be partial to my roots. This Jamaican brown stew chicken recipe is SO flavoursome and I promise you this one will impress your guests. Heck, it’s the most delicious Jamaican brown stew chicken recipe you will ever make!!

What is Jamaican brown stew chicken?

The name brown stew, derived from the distinctive dark hue that’s created from browning the chicken with brown sugar.I cannot emphasis the importance of yielding that detectable dark brown colour, it’s crucial for that wonderful deep coffeecoloured gravy to accompany the browned chicken.

Sunday would be the day that we would serve brown stew chicken, although there’s no reason why you cannot make this any day of the week.

Like most dishes each Caribbean island has their own variation of brown stew chicken, for now I’ll be showing you how to make delicious Jamaican brown stew chicken.

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It’s very simple to pull off, once you master this the first time, you’ll be making this for Jamaican chicken dinner all the time – I can tell you that.

Is brown stew chicken healthy?

Yes, my version is!! As you already know, being healthy is my middle name , so expect a few adjustments to this recipe.

For instance, I roasted the chicken instead of frying it in a large quantity of oil. My philosophy is avoid deep fat frying where possible, if there’s a healthier alternative Charla will gladly pursue that root.

How to make brown stew chicken with yard style gravy

I do recommend preparing the chicken over night and leaving it to infuse the flavours. To begin, we need to create the marinade, it’s a simple concoction which includes somehomemade browning and coconut sugar

Coconut palm sugar is a low glycemic index sweetener made from ‘tapping’ the sap of the coconut palm tree. This is by far more superior to the overly processed brown sugar, albeit expensive, keep in mind it’s nutritional properties are retained through it’s minimal processing.

Of course the chicken is cleaned/neutralised using the lime and vinegar technique, a traditional way of washing chicken and one that I still uphold as I embark this culinary adventure.

The next day is where the fun happens, prior to browning the chicken, scrap off the marinade and store in the refrigerator (we will return to this during cooking).

How to make Jamaican brown stew chicken – the steps

1, The chicken is clean and washed as per cultural practice, ready for the seasoning

3, Add the homemade browning sauce to the complete what will be your marinade

4, As you can see the chicken has now taken on the slight tint from the sugar and browning

5, Place the chicken thighs on a baking sheet with plenty of space as to not overcrowd

6, Sautee the onions until translucent in appearance

7, Cook the remaining vegetables along with the herbs, pimento berries and ginger

8, Finally add the browned chicken though before pouring the hot water into the pan.

How long does it take to cook brown stew chicken in the oven?

The chicken shouldn’t take too long to brown in the oven. There is roughly a 25 minute difference in cooking time.Yes it will take longer than frying, but as I said before, this is a great oil free method to follow through while yielding the same results – a win-win situation right?

As the chicken roasts, it will generate it’s own liquid, this is known as the dripping. You can add a tablespoon or two to the frying pan given that the flavour from the drippings is extracts of the overnight marinade.

The bell peppers will lend a vibrant colourful flare, the ginger will add warmth, while the pimento adds a hint of tropical spice. The hot pepper sauce provides that heat element, again I have a recipe coming up, so your girl has you covered in that arena too. I substituted tomato ketchup for organic tomato puree which doesn’t compromise the taste at all.

Once the chicken has been added to the pan with the other veggies and warm water (use warm water to keep the temperature consistent) – a slow simmer will create a deep enriched brown gravy.

Jamaican brown stew chicken slow cooker style

There’s always the option of making this recipe in a crock pot. There’s not much difference with the stove top vs slow cook method. You would still need to follow the exact same principles of browning meat, seasoning. The only difference would adding the meat and liquid to the slow cooker instead.

Set your slow cooker to the lowest setting and have the stewed chicken cook for 3 hours.

Authentic Jamaican brown stew chicken

Learn how to make the best Authentic Jamaican brown stew chicken in town that’s also paleo and gluten free

Author:Charla

Prep Time:10 mins

Cook Time:45 mins

Total Time:55 mins

Yield:41x

Category:Main entree

Cuisine:Jamaican

Scale

Ingredients

For the marinade

3lb of chicken thighs, washed and cleaned as instructed in the post.

2tsp of himalayan pink salt

1 tsp of black pepper

3 medium sized scallions, sliced

2 tsp of coconut palm sugar

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4–1/2 tsp of browning sauce

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To make the gravy

2tbsp of coconut oil

1 medium sized onion, sliced

1/2tbsp of dried thyme or 3 sprigs of thyme

2 pimento berries (1/4 tsp allspice)

a thumb sized piece ginger

1tbsp of organic tomato puree

1tsp of hot pepper sauce

1 small red bell pepper

1 small green bell pepper

2 cups of hot water

Instructions

Place all of the ingredients for the marinade into a large bowl with the chicken thighs and rub the entire marinade into the chicken, then store in the refrigerator overnight.

Preheat the oven on 230 degrees celsius or gas mark 8.

Scrap off the excess marinade, store in the refrigerator and proceed to put the chicken in the oven in a roasting pan and roast for 20-25 minutes until brown, making sure to turn over half way through.

Once browned, remove from oven and set aside.

Heat a large frying pan with the coconut oil on medium heat and add the onions, sauteing for 1-2 minutes until translucent.

Then add the bell peppers, ginger, pimento (allspice) along with the dried thyme, tomato puree and hot pepper sauce.

Flip the pan – stir and fold the entire contents.

Now add the chicken with a tablespoon or two of the drippings and scrap the rest of the marinade which was stored in the refrigerator into the pan.

Finally pour in the two cups of water and stir.

Reduce the heat to low, cover pan with the lid and allow to slowly simmer for 30 minutes.

The water levels will reduce by half and thicken slightly into a rich brown sauce as it simmers. Check the pan to see if any oil is suspeneded on the surface, if so, skim this off with a spoon.

Once the gravy has formed, remove from heat and serve accordingly.

Nutrition

Calories:640

Carbohydrates:8g

Protein:77g

Did you make this recipe?

About Charla

My name is Charla and I am passionate foodie who specialises in creating recipes that are not only gluten and dairy free but I also like to tap into my Caribbean heritage making healthy rendition of classic recipes.

Hey Westly, Tomatoes do create a rich base for the sauce. I think you might be able to get away with pureeing a small amount of red bell peppers instead, that should be a viable substitute.

Pimento balls derive from the Caribbean/Mexico, they have a sweetish aroma and provide some warm to your dish. It’s also known as allpsice you can purchase it in ball or powder form. You should be able to pick some up from Amazon or an ethnic supermarket. I hear you can make a replica using clove, nutmeg and cinnamon. I need to research this more before submitting the formula on my blog.

Thankfully I found your browning sauce recipe the same day on Google and made the stew chicken. It was one of the best stew chickens I’ve tasted! I’ve made it twice already! 🙂 The only thing I did different was remove the chicken skin as it can add quite a bit of fat to the recipe. Thank you for this tasty & healthy recipe, it’s a keeper! 🙂

Yes the water would make a huge difference to the end result. I’m almost certain that using cold water was the culprit. Next time when making browning sauce I would suggest using hot water so the sugar does not harden due to the cold temperature level. The water needs to remain warm/hot at all times in order for the sugar to turn into a smooth syrup.

Thanks so much, Charla! I’ll heed your advice…Your sorrel is currently being steeped. I was pleasantly surprised to see sorrel at the supermarket earlier this week. I’ll be in touch again tomorrow with the outcome.

Charla, I am so happy I have found your website! I loved this recipe. The browning sauce with coconut sugar adds an amazing taste with so little to add to the recipe. I had a hankering for baked beans one day and used your browning sauce. Wow! I used Northern Beans, sauteed onion and red bell pepper, just a few drops of browning sauce, ketchup (sugar free), maple syrup (just a few drops – I guess molasses could be used), onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper and a little of “Slap Ya Momma” spice. Whew!

Hi there. I love when my readers provide positive feedback. Glad you enjoyed the chicken, if you want the stew to thicken up some more mix about 1-2 tsps of tapioca starch and simply add that to the pan, it’s perfectly neutral and won’t disturb the flavour

I made this recipe today. It was a huge hit! I haven’t had Caribbean food since going gluten and refined sugar free a few years ago. And I’ve never made Caribbean food — only dined out. I really missed the flavors and decided that I would have to find brown stew recipe that fit all of my criteria.

I came across this recipe and your browning sauce too. Made both! My husband and I both had seconds and I have enough left over for dinner tomorrow. I also sautéed cabbage and made jasmine brown rice and black beans. Next time I will make plantains too.

The taste and flavors and aroma were everything I was missing! I will most definitely be adding the brown stew recipe to my repertoire.

OMG…I used whole wings and was only able to let the chicken marinate for 6hrs I also added shredded carrots for a bit more color..BUT…My 8yr old doesn’t really do meat but with this recipe she had 3 whole wings and wanted more but I didn’t cook enough for that..This is a must keep kid friendly meal for the picky eaters..I served it over yellow rice with sweet peas and dinner rolls.

Hi TJ. No problem! You are more than welcome to modify the recipe to suit. I’m just glad that your 8 yr old enjoyed the recipe too. It
s always a win when I hear that my recipes are child friendly too.